- Supermarkets

BRIEFCASE

August 23, 1990

PUBLIX SUPER Market officials would not comment Wednesday on speculation that the Lakeland-based grocery chain is considering expanding outside Florida. The grocery chain is said to be negotiating with Ingles Markets Inc., a chain based in Asheville, N.C., with more than 100 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia. Jack Ferguson, Ingles vice president of finance, said the possibility of a buyout is ''strictly a rumor'' that has been circulating for about a year.